WHO wants to review Russian vaccine safety data
The World Health Organization said any WHO stamp of approval on a COVID-19 vaccine candidate would require a rigorous safety data review, after Russia announced it had approved a vaccine. “We are in close contact with the Russian health authorities and discussions are ongoing with respect to possible WHO pre-qualification of the vaccine,” the United Nations health agency’s spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told reporters in Geneva at an online press briefing. “Pre-qualification of any vaccine includes the rigorous review and assessment of all the required safety and efficacy data.”
Bhutan orders first
coronavirus lockdown
Bhutan ordered its first nationwide lockdown on Tuesday after a returning resident tested positive for coronavirus after being discharged from quarantine and coming into close contact with people in the capital Thimphu.
The lockdown was ordered after a 27-year-old Bhutanese woman, who returned from Kuwait and was discharged from quarantine after testing negative, tested positive at a clinic on Monday. The case took the total in the tiny Himalayan kingdom to 113, still the lowest in South Asia, and it has yet to record a fatality.
Singapore confirms 61 new cases
Singapore reported 61 new COVID-19 cases, its lowest daily count in more than four months. The city-state went into a lockdown in mid-April after mass outbreaks in cramped migrant worker dormitories pushed its caseload to one of the highest in Asia. Last week, it said it had cleared infections from all of the dormitories – housing around 300,000 workers – barring some blocks which continue to serve as isolation zones. Of Tuesday’s cases – its lowest tally since April 2 – the majority were among those remaining workers serving quarantine.
Indonesia reports 1,693 new cases
Indonesia reported 1,693 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s total tally of infections to 128,776, data from the country’s health ministry website showed.
The data also showed an additional 59 deaths, taking the total number of fatalities to 5,824, the highest COVID-19 death toll in Southeast Asia.
SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies
South Korea reports 34 new COVID-19 cases
South Korea’s new coronavirus cases bounced back to above 30 on Tuesday, as an uptick in church-traced infections shows no signs of letup, according to Yonhap news agency.
The country identified an additional 34 virus cases, including 23 domestic infections, raising the total caseload to 14,660, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
There were no new reported fatalities for the second consecutive day, keeping the death toll at 305.
SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies
